And Then I Stepped in Gum . . .

Wow, that feels good!

I just sent in an editing assignment three days early. And I know it will be gratefully received, which just makes me feel good. Maybe having my little break from work last month wasn't so bad -- I'm now more eager to get into my projects, and I've tamed my procrastinating habit a little bit. (All right, I still play Snood more than I should, but I'm getting better!)

Today was a whole-family-home day -- Dave has Tuesdays off from the university -- and things went pretty smoothly. I took Katie to dance while Dave watched Ian and put him down for his morning nap; I worked while Dave lunched the kids and put Katie down for her nap; and then I took both kids to a playdate to give Dave, who's sick with a cold, a break. Then he got them dinner and ready for bed while I decompressed and then worked. And now, since I'm done early, I might even get to go hang out with *him* and watch some TV before we go to bed.

I worry sometimes that this switcharoo parenting -- my turn, then his turn, my turn, then his turn -- isn't the "right" way to do things when we're all home together. I worry that it sends the signal to the kids that parenting is an undesirable chore, something to be "gotten through" until your turn is over. And the thing is, it often *is* an undesirable chore, right? But I feel like the ideal mom would have more fun when she was watching the kids, and the ideal family would do everything together. But then when would there be time to do the dishes, pick up the house, work, nap, etc.?

And napping is important. This place often feels like The House o' Naps. On days when he's home, Dave usually lets me sleep in (i.e., I don't have to get up at 6 with the kids; I get to "sleep in" until 8:30 -- remember when sleeping in meant not stirring until long past noon? But I digress...). Then I get up and take over the kids, and he naps. Someone usually naps during one or both of the kids' naps (which at the moment stretch out over the whole day between the two of them), and it's not unheard of for one of us to nap at 8 p.m. and then get up for a little while before going to bed again. I'm hoping this will change when Ian finally decides to sleep through the night (as of now, at 16 months old, he technically sleeps through (meaning 5-6 hours), but not really -- he goes down at 7-8, wakes at 1, wakes at 3:30, and wakes for good at 6; needless to say, no one's getting a really good night's sleep with this going on). The plan (again) is to night-wean him this weekend -- if we're not too sick, or too tired, or too busy to follow through with it.

I guess spending time with one's spouse is important, too, and I'd better get to it. Not to mention there's this crocheted baby bootie project calling my name...

posted by Jennifer Morgan, at 9:03 PM